Any new Renault Zoe owners out there?
Discussion
Doing the maths again this morning, and there are some good lease deals with Renault Retail at the moment on the Zoe 135kw Rapid Charge - 3+35 = £320 month on 15kpa. Considering we are putting £150+ of diesel in a nearly 5 year old Fiat 500X at the moment to commute into the Birmingham suburbs every day via M5/M42, its starting to really add up.
https://leasing.com/main-dealers/renault-retail-gr...
Is anyone running one yet, how are they finding it? This will be our first step into EV, tried a Model S and a 3, quite liked it, clearly this is a very different 'white goods' proposition. Anyone any experience of Annual Servicing costs - cant find much information around that?
Says 240 miles on a charge, daily commute is 65 round trip, 40 weeks a year with the odd zip into town at the weekend. Website quotes 150 miles real range in Winter, so on paper its well over-specced for what we need. Occasional trip to Cornwall means stopping for a 30min break somewhere round Exeter, but thats no real issue, we do anyway. And we have another car for any real long distance continental trips.
The 500X was a second family car, we dont need the space anymore and can chop it in and clear the outstanding finance with enough left for the 3+ bit of the lease.
Just seems cost neutral at least, when we are paying £230pm on a loan on the 500X, then chucking £150 of diesel in on top of that plus additional service / maintenance / MOT costs which come with an older car. Even after you chuck £40 of additional electricity each month on the bill.
Hmmm. Almost a no brainer?
https://leasing.com/main-dealers/renault-retail-gr...
Is anyone running one yet, how are they finding it? This will be our first step into EV, tried a Model S and a 3, quite liked it, clearly this is a very different 'white goods' proposition. Anyone any experience of Annual Servicing costs - cant find much information around that?
Says 240 miles on a charge, daily commute is 65 round trip, 40 weeks a year with the odd zip into town at the weekend. Website quotes 150 miles real range in Winter, so on paper its well over-specced for what we need. Occasional trip to Cornwall means stopping for a 30min break somewhere round Exeter, but thats no real issue, we do anyway. And we have another car for any real long distance continental trips.
The 500X was a second family car, we dont need the space anymore and can chop it in and clear the outstanding finance with enough left for the 3+ bit of the lease.
Just seems cost neutral at least, when we are paying £230pm on a loan on the 500X, then chucking £150 of diesel in on top of that plus additional service / maintenance / MOT costs which come with an older car. Even after you chuck £40 of additional electricity each month on the bill.
Hmmm. Almost a no brainer?
Thanks guys, some good feedback there, I’m not going mad then, it will work and probably save me £50+ a month and remove the expensive bill risk on the 500x. Will need to look at energy suppliers next March when our tariff expires for cheap overnight stuff and stick it on a time clock?
We bottled a Tesla S 18 months ago, and went with a weekend sports car + daily diesel shed for me for work, an M3P was a glimpse on the horizon back then. The kids have their own £500 shed to share, we were struggling to think of the last time we all went out together. It only ever happens when the kids pick us up from the pub in their car lol!
The performance doesn’t bother us at all, this is about a clean, cost effective way of commuting into Birmingham and pottering around town. Good point about the A30, Plymouth to Penzance, 235 miles for us, but if we took the Zoe, we may have to stop twice. Most likely, we’d take the diesel shed, it’s sand and surfboard proof for a start.
So, need to check out 1+23 leases to avoid the £300 service some point in Year 3 and will check the leasing deals PH thread. Looks like a Zoe then! Not on FB (luddite) or would check out the Zoe Owners page. May hack mrs dgswk’s account.... she’ll be using it most of time.
Thank you again
We bottled a Tesla S 18 months ago, and went with a weekend sports car + daily diesel shed for me for work, an M3P was a glimpse on the horizon back then. The kids have their own £500 shed to share, we were struggling to think of the last time we all went out together. It only ever happens when the kids pick us up from the pub in their car lol!
The performance doesn’t bother us at all, this is about a clean, cost effective way of commuting into Birmingham and pottering around town. Good point about the A30, Plymouth to Penzance, 235 miles for us, but if we took the Zoe, we may have to stop twice. Most likely, we’d take the diesel shed, it’s sand and surfboard proof for a start.
So, need to check out 1+23 leases to avoid the £300 service some point in Year 3 and will check the leasing deals PH thread. Looks like a Zoe then! Not on FB (luddite) or would check out the Zoe Owners page. May hack mrs dgswk’s account.... she’ll be using it most of time.
Thank you again
Hi chaps
Looks like we are pushing on this this, negotiating between Renault Retail and Electric Auto on the best lease deal at the moment; 1+35 for £343 seems to be about the best, only a few pennies between them, then repeat in 3 years.
Couple of questions for the experienced amongst you.....
Trying to talk to my Electric Supplier (Scottish Power) about cheap overnight charging, 00:00 to 05:00, they do it, 5.6p KWh down from 14.76p, just need to have a well connected smart meter. Our smart meter hasn't worked in years, so they are looking into it..... good job the car wont arrive for a couple of months.
Begs the question - I'm not waiting till midnight to rush outside and plug it in and getting up at 5 to unplug it. How do you schedule the charge - does the wall box do it, or does the car do it? Do I need a posh charger, or will the cheapest T2 be fine?
Leased cars dont get the BP Chargemaster free install I'm told, so it will be DIY. I'm an ex-electrician, not quite forgotten everything yet, but basically a 6mm on a 32A breaker, < 8m from distribution board so should be fine. Actually better, as I'll have floor boards up and hide the cables.
That is unless I can find a good deal, but am I missing something - even with the grant, they all seem to be > £500, a lot of money for 10m of 6mm, a breaker, a box with a big plug on it and an easy mornings work?
Looks like we are pushing on this this, negotiating between Renault Retail and Electric Auto on the best lease deal at the moment; 1+35 for £343 seems to be about the best, only a few pennies between them, then repeat in 3 years.
Couple of questions for the experienced amongst you.....
Trying to talk to my Electric Supplier (Scottish Power) about cheap overnight charging, 00:00 to 05:00, they do it, 5.6p KWh down from 14.76p, just need to have a well connected smart meter. Our smart meter hasn't worked in years, so they are looking into it..... good job the car wont arrive for a couple of months.
Begs the question - I'm not waiting till midnight to rush outside and plug it in and getting up at 5 to unplug it. How do you schedule the charge - does the wall box do it, or does the car do it? Do I need a posh charger, or will the cheapest T2 be fine?
Leased cars dont get the BP Chargemaster free install I'm told, so it will be DIY. I'm an ex-electrician, not quite forgotten everything yet, but basically a 6mm on a 32A breaker, < 8m from distribution board so should be fine. Actually better, as I'll have floor boards up and hide the cables.
That is unless I can find a good deal, but am I missing something - even with the grant, they all seem to be > £500, a lot of money for 10m of 6mm, a breaker, a box with a big plug on it and an easy mornings work?
Heathwood said:
I have mixed feeling about these.
I had one of the first edition when it was almost cheaper than walking to lease one (£79pcm+£50 battery rental, no deposit).
I quite liked the car and there’s only really 3 important elements to the car; the battery pack, the motor and the cabling between the two. Trouble is, all 3 needed replacing under warranty within a few thousand miles after total failure of the car occurred with no warning (blocking the entrance/exit to my kids nursery for 6 hours). Glad I wasn’t paying the bill!
Still, the Corsa that Renault put me in for a week while investigating the issue made me realise that I really liked driving the Zoe but, in truth, the novelty had warn off by the time the 2 year lease ended; not helped by the growing reluctance for it to connect to the home charger (I never bothered trying to charge away from home).
Despite this, I have quite fond memories and, despite having friends who also leased one, know of nobody else that had the problems I did.
I wonder whether the later models retain the charm but have subtly improved the reliability and, of course, the range. All in all, I still think they’re the answer to a lot of current automotive questions.
The home charging issues is the piece that worries me, as it will rarely be charged anywhere else. But then the ‘fond memories’ is a real plus as ultimately for us, it is a daily necessary item, akin to washing machine / fridge, so if it’s actually cool, and a good place to be - and painless to drive - then massive bonus. Mrs dgswk likes them, dgswk jnr has an 06 Clio and loves his and wants a go when it rocks up.I had one of the first edition when it was almost cheaper than walking to lease one (£79pcm+£50 battery rental, no deposit).
I quite liked the car and there’s only really 3 important elements to the car; the battery pack, the motor and the cabling between the two. Trouble is, all 3 needed replacing under warranty within a few thousand miles after total failure of the car occurred with no warning (blocking the entrance/exit to my kids nursery for 6 hours). Glad I wasn’t paying the bill!
Still, the Corsa that Renault put me in for a week while investigating the issue made me realise that I really liked driving the Zoe but, in truth, the novelty had warn off by the time the 2 year lease ended; not helped by the growing reluctance for it to connect to the home charger (I never bothered trying to charge away from home).
Despite this, I have quite fond memories and, despite having friends who also leased one, know of nobody else that had the problems I did.
I wonder whether the later models retain the charm but have subtly improved the reliability and, of course, the range. All in all, I still think they’re the answer to a lot of current automotive questions.
Had a Corsa, and a Vectra. A lot of dislike for both sadly. Sorry Luton or wherever they make them. Have to say, both of us love our 500x, so much better than it ought to be, will miss it. If it wasn’t worth a few quid, I’d bin my A6 shed and keep it.
Just a quick note of thanks to you Zoe owners (and dealers!) out there, the button has been pushed on a Diamond Black GT Line RC, order accepted, should rock up mid-Sept on a 1+35 lease.
Got to sort the charging station at home now as thats where it'll receive 99% of its power and sort Scottish Power out and take up their EV overnight tariff. Quite excited! Not quite a 'ludicrous' Tesla but perfect for what we need and the auto should take away some of the pain of the Birmingham commute.
Got to sort the charging station at home now as thats where it'll receive 99% of its power and sort Scottish Power out and take up their EV overnight tariff. Quite excited! Not quite a 'ludicrous' Tesla but perfect for what we need and the auto should take away some of the pain of the Birmingham commute.
JPJPJP said:
Mine has been delivered today. It is a step up in terms of interior finish than the 64 plate one I had nearly 6 years ago. Nicer instruments and the touchscreen menus make a bit more sense. A few bits of fancy trim on the outside and the wheels looks nice enough.
And the big battery - 245 miles on a charge. I’ve only done 6 miles so far, but I think it will do. Seats seem comfy enough and driving position will do
It is definitely white goods as far as cars go, but it is perfectly adequate for me
That’s good to know, thank you! We’ve just had delivery confirmed for the 28th. Have not sorted charger yet - as it’s leased, apparently we don’t get one for free. Given the 70 miles a day it will do, we’ll live with 3 pin extension lead For a couple of weeks while we move electricity supplier to a nice low cost ev tariff later in the year.And the big battery - 245 miles on a charge. I’ve only done 6 miles so far, but I think it will do. Seats seem comfy enough and driving position will do
It is definitely white goods as far as cars go, but it is perfectly adequate for me
DuncanM23 said:
Just a heads-up - they usually just come with a Type 2 cable and no 3 pin charger. The Renault one is expensive (I think 400 quid or so), but there are a couple of 3rd party suppliers - if you go on the RZOC facebook page there is a link to one that definitely works with the Zoe and has a discount code (I think it comes in about £170 ish). The 3rd party ones also can have different length cables, if you need a longer one. Check with your dealer to see if has one as standard before ordering though.
One note of caution - many people charge on the 3 pin plug happily, but there have been some instances where the prolonged high current draw has melted the plug - usually as a result of the socket not handling things very well and getting incredibly hot. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on the socket/plug interface the first few times you use it, especially if your electrics are old. For this reason (and especially if you are planning on an EV tariff and charging overnight), I would recommend investigating a proper EVSE (the acronym for the charger box).
Enjoy.
Cheers Duncan, really appreciate that, had completely overlooked the lack of 3-pin lead. Pretty sure it doesnt come with one. Having a spare is a good call anyway, leave one at home, keep one in the car.One note of caution - many people charge on the 3 pin plug happily, but there have been some instances where the prolonged high current draw has melted the plug - usually as a result of the socket not handling things very well and getting incredibly hot. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on the socket/plug interface the first few times you use it, especially if your electrics are old. For this reason (and especially if you are planning on an EV tariff and charging overnight), I would recommend investigating a proper EVSE (the acronym for the charger box).
Enjoy.
Been looking at getting my Type 2 point today, but having done the maths, I dont think I need to. I was going DIY route anyway, getting one of the lads from work to check my electrics and sign it off, that way I can get cables under floorboards etc. to the front of the house.
Read somewhere, they charge on a 3-pin at something like 10mph, so 70 miles a day, 7 hours over night. EV tariff kicks in at midnight, leave at 7:30 for work, jobs a good-un. More at the weekend. OK, last couple of hours are at 14p/kwh rather than 5p. We will get one, just got other things going on at the moment.
We have a 6-cyl petrol for fun trips, and a filthy dirty Audi diesel shed for other duties, so rapid charging is not an issue - we dont need it to be at 245 miles range 99% of the time. This is about Mon-Fri into Birmingham and back, a few local shopping runs but importantly (for us), helping the smog and adopting the technology.
I appreciate it takes CO2 to generate a lot of the electricity in the UK, but that will change in time as will the recycling / repair of the batteries. Should we wait until we have net zero electricity before we start developing the car technology? No, we should be doing it simultaneously, or it will be 2045 or 2055. There are also a lot of people who seem to bemoan range, and how, unless it does 400+ miles on a charge it couldn't possibly work for them. And actually, if it was our only car, it would become a PITA, but as our second car, it will work really well. So, we are 50% better than we were.
And, I'm a full fat petrolhead, having all sorts of fast cars (currently a 911), but unlike lots of the luddites, I'm in my late 40's and I'm genuinely excited to be part of the electric revolution. I think its brilliant, there are so so many opportunities.
And yes, I test drove a ludicrous Tesla - it just didn't go around corners very well, so wasn't quite for me. Yet.
Well, it arrived yesterday, delivery driver pretty much said here's the keys mate, did a quick damage check - all good, and that was it.
First thoughts?
Well, its bigger than expected, a lot bigger. Thought it would be 108, C1, Aygo size, it isn't. Its not far off the old 500X. Not a bad thing. High driving position - Mrs dgswk likes that and as she will use it 80% of the time, its a good thing.
Doors are tinny, don't slam with a thud. No sill guards on the doors - just paint, likewise on the boot lip. That will get scratched. Hmmm, guess thin metal = weight loss. Hmmmm.
Interior however is very very good, deeply impressed with the seats. I'm 6'1, loads of room, and in the back. Steering wheel is excellent. Get this - its a nicer thing to hold than the one in my 992 911. Big screen, also excellent, simple to use, big buttons for fat fingers on the move. Better than the massively over complex thing in the 992 also. I turn that off most of the time, I hate touch screens but this one is okay, just. Stereo - wow, really really impressed.
Immediately plugged it in via a 3-pin. Came with 160 miles in 'the tank', said it would take about 6hrs 50mins to 100%. By 6pm, about 7hrs later, it was 99%. I can easily live with that.
The 'B Mode' is great, barely used the brakes since discovering it, bit like a Scalextric car, you just modulate the accelerator only. And once you realise that you can push the accelerator though the resistance in what you first think is the end of its travel, my word, its got some go. Not in a ludicrous Tesla way, but 0-40mph is properly nippy. And it handles okay too, guess the low down batteries help although you can feel the weight, but then the same weight somehow seems to smooth the ride.
Did 72 miles today from 100% charge, just plugged it back in with 71% charge left and a 3 pin recharge time of 8:15 hours. That would have been £8-9 of diesel.
I've got to be honest, whilst its not exciting really compared with many cars we have had, got to say, I'm really really taken with it, and I am a real petrolhead at heart. It is definetly not just a town kind of car, we have both said if it was our only car, it would actually do us very very well.
We will take it for a trip to Cornwall which will probably involve a small (50 mile) recharge and a coffee on route. We will do it for the experience and if its a PITA, we'll take the dino-juice powered car next time.
First thoughts?
Well, its bigger than expected, a lot bigger. Thought it would be 108, C1, Aygo size, it isn't. Its not far off the old 500X. Not a bad thing. High driving position - Mrs dgswk likes that and as she will use it 80% of the time, its a good thing.
Doors are tinny, don't slam with a thud. No sill guards on the doors - just paint, likewise on the boot lip. That will get scratched. Hmmm, guess thin metal = weight loss. Hmmmm.
Interior however is very very good, deeply impressed with the seats. I'm 6'1, loads of room, and in the back. Steering wheel is excellent. Get this - its a nicer thing to hold than the one in my 992 911. Big screen, also excellent, simple to use, big buttons for fat fingers on the move. Better than the massively over complex thing in the 992 also. I turn that off most of the time, I hate touch screens but this one is okay, just. Stereo - wow, really really impressed.
Immediately plugged it in via a 3-pin. Came with 160 miles in 'the tank', said it would take about 6hrs 50mins to 100%. By 6pm, about 7hrs later, it was 99%. I can easily live with that.
The 'B Mode' is great, barely used the brakes since discovering it, bit like a Scalextric car, you just modulate the accelerator only. And once you realise that you can push the accelerator though the resistance in what you first think is the end of its travel, my word, its got some go. Not in a ludicrous Tesla way, but 0-40mph is properly nippy. And it handles okay too, guess the low down batteries help although you can feel the weight, but then the same weight somehow seems to smooth the ride.
Did 72 miles today from 100% charge, just plugged it back in with 71% charge left and a 3 pin recharge time of 8:15 hours. That would have been £8-9 of diesel.
I've got to be honest, whilst its not exciting really compared with many cars we have had, got to say, I'm really really taken with it, and I am a real petrolhead at heart. It is definetly not just a town kind of car, we have both said if it was our only car, it would actually do us very very well.
We will take it for a trip to Cornwall which will probably involve a small (50 mile) recharge and a coffee on route. We will do it for the experience and if its a PITA, we'll take the dino-juice powered car next time.
Update from the OP!
5 months, 6,000 miles into 'new' Zoe ownership - leased, 1+35, £340 per month, 16kpa. Its the GT Line, 50KWh Rapid Charge. Cant be arsed to read what I wrote originally, but dont think our view has changed much, probably improved further.
We also have a sheddy diesel A6 tip car which I use for my 2-3 days a week long commute (200 mile round trip), a 'toy car' (ok, a 992 911) and my 19yo lads '06 reg Renault Clio (1st car, cheap insurance and utterly utterly faithful!)
My wife uses the Zoe primarily for her 70 mile a day commute up the M5, M42 and Birmingham suburbs - she's a school teacher. Goes without saying, its proven cost neutral at worst for a start. Got the free Chargemaster Box with the car, moved to Octopus 5p rate and it very nicely tops up every night whilst we sleep. TBH, haven't really noticed the bill go up much either - its winter, so its just been absorbed into that. Maybe £20ish a month? Take into account the lack of diesel and the loan we were paying on her old car, in terms of monthlies, we are probably £50ish up. It just works, so so easy to drive, REALLY nippy especially around town.
She's been getting 3.5 miles per KWh on an average commute, 1.5p a mile, and she doesn't hang about on the motorway sections. Drives it exactly as she would her old diesel (erratically, sometimes like she stole it, sometimes Ms Daisy). Certainly no 'Eco' mode here, no regen mode there. That reflects in seeing the range hover around the 160 miles through the winter - heated seats, aircon, headlights - all going, all the time.
Then lockdown happened, and she's working from home. So rather than spend £20 on diesel every few daysl, I've bagged the keys for the last two months for my 200 mile roundtrip.
I've managed to get to about 4 miles per KWh, 1.25p per mile, and seeing 180-200 miles on a charge, very dependant on outside temps, 150 when its been -7 recently. I've never pushed it and usually stop for a coffee anyway as its a 13-14hr day for me. So have been stopping at Michaelwood Services M5 North, grabbing a coffee whilst plugging into the Ecotricity things. £2.50 and 10 mins later, and I'm home with 10-20 miles to spare. Think it was 6 degs yesterday, showed as 197 miles, car pre-heated on the drive at 04:45hrs, 60-70mph. If I'd pushed it, could have maybe - just - made it without stopping. The range indicated is very accurate after a few trips.
The good?
It does exactly what we expected it to, real range is actually okay, charging on the drive is a dream - pre-heating is the best bit, its soooo easy to drive, properly nippy up to 40mph, the GT spec is very very good, everything you'd ever want. And I've had no problems charging at Motorway services for the last few weeks on the 50KWh CCS Combo units.
Not so good?
Back doors and tailgate are tinny at best, BP Chargemaster are useless, we had an issue 4 WEEKS AGO with the box and we are still waiting for a call back despite god knows how many calls to them. I'm an ex-sparky so fixed it myself, warranty is useless if nobody responds.
Would we make the same decision again? Absolutely yes.
Anyway, she's back at work next week so handing the keys back. Charged the old skool lead-acid thing ready to go back into my sheddy A6 on Sunday, happy-is that I'm £400 up on fuel money. Going to really miss the Zoe for sure.
I won't deny that I haven't considered chopping in my Shed and 992 for a Taycan / e-tron GT / Tesla - along with my PH card.
5 months, 6,000 miles into 'new' Zoe ownership - leased, 1+35, £340 per month, 16kpa. Its the GT Line, 50KWh Rapid Charge. Cant be arsed to read what I wrote originally, but dont think our view has changed much, probably improved further.
We also have a sheddy diesel A6 tip car which I use for my 2-3 days a week long commute (200 mile round trip), a 'toy car' (ok, a 992 911) and my 19yo lads '06 reg Renault Clio (1st car, cheap insurance and utterly utterly faithful!)
My wife uses the Zoe primarily for her 70 mile a day commute up the M5, M42 and Birmingham suburbs - she's a school teacher. Goes without saying, its proven cost neutral at worst for a start. Got the free Chargemaster Box with the car, moved to Octopus 5p rate and it very nicely tops up every night whilst we sleep. TBH, haven't really noticed the bill go up much either - its winter, so its just been absorbed into that. Maybe £20ish a month? Take into account the lack of diesel and the loan we were paying on her old car, in terms of monthlies, we are probably £50ish up. It just works, so so easy to drive, REALLY nippy especially around town.
She's been getting 3.5 miles per KWh on an average commute, 1.5p a mile, and she doesn't hang about on the motorway sections. Drives it exactly as she would her old diesel (erratically, sometimes like she stole it, sometimes Ms Daisy). Certainly no 'Eco' mode here, no regen mode there. That reflects in seeing the range hover around the 160 miles through the winter - heated seats, aircon, headlights - all going, all the time.
Then lockdown happened, and she's working from home. So rather than spend £20 on diesel every few daysl, I've bagged the keys for the last two months for my 200 mile roundtrip.
I've managed to get to about 4 miles per KWh, 1.25p per mile, and seeing 180-200 miles on a charge, very dependant on outside temps, 150 when its been -7 recently. I've never pushed it and usually stop for a coffee anyway as its a 13-14hr day for me. So have been stopping at Michaelwood Services M5 North, grabbing a coffee whilst plugging into the Ecotricity things. £2.50 and 10 mins later, and I'm home with 10-20 miles to spare. Think it was 6 degs yesterday, showed as 197 miles, car pre-heated on the drive at 04:45hrs, 60-70mph. If I'd pushed it, could have maybe - just - made it without stopping. The range indicated is very accurate after a few trips.
The good?
It does exactly what we expected it to, real range is actually okay, charging on the drive is a dream - pre-heating is the best bit, its soooo easy to drive, properly nippy up to 40mph, the GT spec is very very good, everything you'd ever want. And I've had no problems charging at Motorway services for the last few weeks on the 50KWh CCS Combo units.
Not so good?
Back doors and tailgate are tinny at best, BP Chargemaster are useless, we had an issue 4 WEEKS AGO with the box and we are still waiting for a call back despite god knows how many calls to them. I'm an ex-sparky so fixed it myself, warranty is useless if nobody responds.
Would we make the same decision again? Absolutely yes.
Anyway, she's back at work next week so handing the keys back. Charged the old skool lead-acid thing ready to go back into my sheddy A6 on Sunday, happy-is that I'm £400 up on fuel money. Going to really miss the Zoe for sure.
I won't deny that I haven't considered chopping in my Shed and 992 for a Taycan / e-tron GT / Tesla - along with my PH card.
PF62 said:
dgswk said:
5 months, 6,000 miles into 'new' Zoe ownership - leased, 1+35, £340 per month, 16kpa. I
...
Got the free Chargemaster Box with the car
...
BP Chargemaster are useless,
Was your lease direct with Renault?...
Got the free Chargemaster Box with the car
...
BP Chargemaster are useless,
I have heard mixed stories about whether you are entitled to the free Chargemaster box with leased cars, with some reports that only leases from a Renault dealer are eligible, and trying to get an answer from BP is rather frustrating.
But then I thought if you don't ask you dont get so got in touch with BP on the off chance. I filled in the forms with the reg number, waited about 6-8 weeks whilst they did some checks with National Grid and all that, and an engineer turned up in the middle of November.
They did a good job, pretty neat and they were gone..... The device then started locking out and after hounding them for over two weeks - they could not even give me a date for an engineer to come and look, I gave up, gave my electrician buddy a call and together we diagnosed a faulty device in the EV board, ordered one up and we were away.
We still don't have a date for the engineer..... Electric Auto / Zen leasing were excellent.
Frimley111R said:
It is a huge issue for the electrical industry generally. Manufacturers and installers spend huge amounts of time with software related issues. Dumb chargers were simpler and the software Apps provide/use is built into most cars.
A large electrical company I know says 97% of customers calls are software relate issues (solar, battery storage etc).
All this clever tech to link things up is great in theory but in practice it can be a nightmare. Electrical companies are going to have to be 50% software based in future.
100% mate, I'm of the the PLC and a few relays old school of thought; I took the BP / Renault offer up on the basis I got the board fitted and the 6mm run in for free. The connector on the end was a bonus. Sadly, I haven't updated my quals in years but have a couple of friends still in the game who spec and commission stuff in exchange for beer + bbq's. I just do the graft....A large electrical company I know says 97% of customers calls are software relate issues (solar, battery storage etc).
All this clever tech to link things up is great in theory but in practice it can be a nightmare. Electrical companies are going to have to be 50% software based in future.
If I'm honest I'd never pay £1500 for one - I'd rather pay an electrician a good rate and get something nice and simple that won't let me down. Never used the BP app, never used the Renault App - I just program the charge time in the car.
This is a post from the past! Coincidentally, after 3 years our Zoe went back last Friday with 38k miles. A very cheap 38k miles. Outside of the lease, cost us £300 in servicing, still on original tyres (borderline 2mm on the fronts). With off peak electric, it has cost buttons, and as a second car, couldn’t recommend highly enough.
Wife’s commute dropped to 2-3 miles a day this summer, so made no sense to lease, we bought a 10yo manual
Fiat 500 for £2.5k to replace it.
Wife’s commute dropped to 2-3 miles a day this summer, so made no sense to lease, we bought a 10yo manual
Fiat 500 for £2.5k to replace it.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff